Magic Academy’s Genius Blinker

“Ha…”

Class S Training Facility, Self-Study Room.

Flame was half-heartedly swinging a staff, pretending to train. After a while, she walked into the break room, sighing heavily. She had not been able to concentrate.

“Is there something wrong?”

Hae Won-Ryang entered the lounge with a tired face, wiped his sweat, and sat beside her. According to reports, he was recently undergoing training that was difficult for the general public to comprehend.

“No, not at all.”

“Is that so? If you have any concerns, feel free to tell me.”

“Wow, you sound like an old man. I’m three months older than you, you know?”

Hae Won-Ryang laughed at Flame’s words. He liked her style of speaking.

“Phew. I’m exhausted. What’s going on, anyway?”

Hae Won-Ryang looked around momentarily before replying, “Have you not seen Ma Yu-Seong?”

“What, your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend, but a rival.”

“Well, it seems you’re always looking for him. I almost thought you were going out with him.”

“He’s a rival, so…”

“Oh, I guess so. After academy hours, he goes out to play every day, right?”

Hae Won-Ryang opened his mouth hesitantly. “The thing is, recently, after academy hours, he doesn’t go anywhere and just disappears.”

“Hmm? I doubt he’d stay in the dorm. He hates being idle.”

Flame pondered for a moment. It was to recall the contents of the original novel.

However, she had no memory of any special incident occurring at this time.

“I have no idea.”

In the end, she couldn’t help Hae Won-Ryang.

‘What am I worried about?’

Right now, she was more concerned about Baek Yu-Seol than Ma Yu-Seong. Then she asked, as she suddenly remembered something, “Hey, do you know Baek Yu-Seol?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you think of him?”

“What do you mean?”

“No, it’s just… You have a good eye for people.”

“I’ve never thought about it like that.”

“You really do. So tell me what you think.”

Hae Won-Ryang was confused, but Flame knew. In the future, the talents he selected would become great and outstanding people.

“Well… I just feel like he’s a bit of a unique student.”

“Really?” She said, falling silent again. 

Hae Won-Ryang asked, “Does Baek Yu-Seol… bother you?”

“Yes, he bothers me. A lot,” she answered, frowning.

Hae Won-Ryang’s expression shook slightly, but Flame did not notice it.

“What exactly about him bothers you?”

“He’s just so weird. His belief in pursuing chivalry in this day and age. His personality is unique, his actions are unusual, and…”

“And?”

She had almost mentioned the original storyline but quickly stopped herself.

“Maybe he’s just like me. But I can’t tell you what I’m thinking because I’m afraid he might be different from me.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Hae Won-Ryang got up.

“Huh? You said you’d listen to me.”

“Something came up.”

“What? That’s not fair.”

Flame dashed after Hae Won-Ryang when he left the lounge, but he vanished so quickly that she could not catch up to him.

“What’s wrong with him?”

She watched him from behind, and from a distance, Jecky approached her with a stiff look on her face. The timing was perfect as if she had been waiting.

“Flame.”

“Uh, hello.”

Flame still found it awkward being alone with Jecky. But when she was with other friends, she could always talk to them.

“What happened?”

“Wait, I have something to give you… By the way, have you been with Hae Won-Ryang all this time?”

“Oh? Yeah. You don’t have to say it like that. We’re classmates.”

“Oh, no… Hae Won-Ryang is the heir to the Full Moon Tower.”

‘So what?’

Jecky, who was staring blankly at the place where Hae Won-Ryang had disappeared, soon snapped out of it and quickly handed Flame a note.

“About this… A boy named Herick told me to deliver it. It’s an alchemy notice.”

“Really?”

Flame received the note and read it immediately. It was something out of the original plot.

[Notice: Please note that the practice test assignment is changed from ‘D Vitality Potion’ to ‘Tyren Point Potion’.]

Of course, there was nothing special about it, but this was a sign that the main story was about to begin. As Flame’s expression hardened, Jecky looked at her and hesitantly said, “Oh, and there’s something else… They said not to tell other students. You should understand what that means. What does it mean?”

“Nothing special. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Jecky’s expression hardened at those words, but Flame didn’t notice it because she was looking at the note.

‘Patience. The professor is even more childish.’

She chuckled, quickly understanding that the other students could not share it with the members of Baek Yu-Seol’s Group 12.

‘Can I stay still?’

Flame thought about telling him right away but quickly stopped in place.

‘Come to think of it, no one in the original told Eisel about this.’ 

Within the Alchemy Department, she was nothing short of an outcast, so all other students intentionally went silent to suppress her, who was in Class S and had good grades.

Due to this incident, Eisel closed the walls of her heart and suffered many wounds, but she also overcame this since she was the main character.

‘I don’t have to help her.’

This was all for a good cause.

In order to prevent a catastrophic ending, she had to stay away from Eisel and modify the original storyline little by little.

‘Besides, the current Eisel is not alone.’

‘Baek Yu-Seol.’

If he knew the ‘original’ as well as her, he could prevent this incident in advance.

The main ingredient needed for the original assignment was the severed tail of a fire-attribute lizard.

However, the main material required for the new assignment was the shell of the atarix spider.

‘If it were me, I would prepare the shell of an atarix spider, not the tail of a fire-attribute lizard.’

‘And when I see Professor Maizen Tyren’s bewildered face, I would report her.’

In other words, if he brought the shell of the atarix spider to that experiment, he had to know the original plot like her.

‘It’s a chance to test that bastard.’

Flame made up her mind.

On weekends, Stella Academy was closed. 

During that time, most students trained themselves or engaged in self-development activities such as self-study, while others spent their free time enjoying the best sports event called League of Spirits in the magical world.

It was impossible for Baek Yu-Seol. He really wanted to join the League of Spirits, but his strength was too low, so he couldn’t afford it. He didn’t need to study, and there was a limit to how much stronger he could get through training.

That was why he rushed out on weekends. Rather than going to Arcanium, he used the warp hole to travel to another city.

Shoo!

For an instant, he felt like he was falling from a cliff as the scenery blurred around him.

“Welcome to Daegu Stadium!”

A voice sounded right beside his ears. It was proof that he had successfully passed the warp hole.

Baek Yu-Seol shook his head to dispel the dizziness. As he looked up, he saw a massive apricot-colored barrier erected high in the sky.

Daegu Stadium. 

It was a stage built around 100 years prior for the world’s best singer, Daegu. However, on the day of the first performance, dark mages raided it, so it was never used as a stage but instead as a fortress.

Now, all of the dark mages had retreated, but a few were still running amok.

A mage rushed in as he walked down from the scaffolding of the warp hole. He nodded as he looked at Baek Yu-Seol’s uniform coat and the golden pocket watch on his waist.

“Welcome to Daegu, Mage Baek Yu-Seol!”

“I’m not yet an official mage, but a cadet.”

“Haha, Stella’s cadets deserve the same treatment as regular mages.”

This was the Stella effect.

It was possible to use a warp hole for free with only a Stella cadet’s pass and a Stella pocket watch that normally cost at least 100,000 credits for one use. 

Moreover, you would be treated respectfully even outside the territory of the Holy Empire.

In the setting, magic warriors were basically treated as heroes, and Stella was the most elite among the academies.

“Hey, look over there. It’s a Stella Cadet.”

“It’s true… I’m seeing Stella’s uniform for the first time.”

Stella’s school uniform was designed to be recognizable by anyone because the cloak, which resembled a long coat, and the pentagram insignia, Stella’s symbol, were lavishly decorated in gold.

It boasted the identity of Stella’s cadet.

‘This is the reason why K-University students always wear uniforms in Korea.’

With newfound confidence, he walked with his head held high, and once in a while, he fluttered the hem of his coat to appear cool. 

Somehow, it felt like his shoulders were as wide as a soccer field.

“Where are you going? If it’s your first time, we’ll guide you.”

“No. I’ve been here a few times.”

It had been a few weeks since he enrolled in Stella, and he used the warp hole every weekend to tour the surrounding city or go hunting. He wanted to confirm whether the knowledge of his past world also applied there.

The outcome was quite positive, and he confirmed that, while there were many changes because it was reality, most of the important elements remained the same.

As a result, he had spent the last few weeks attempting to hunt various mobs categorized at the lowest level 1 danger. 

It wasn’t particularly difficult. 

He believed it stemmed from his recent experience of dealing with people who revealed killing intent towards him.

Today’s target was the fire-attribute lizard of level 2 danger. 

Despite having only a bit more stamina and power than a normal beast, it was given a level 2 danger stigma, signifying combat power of at least Class 2 or higher due to magic defense and quick movements.

Baek Yu-Seol had raised his physical attack power, and there was no problem because he excelled in speed.

‘Somewhere around here…’

He walked out of the stadium and spent a long time wandering through the swamp before the straight trees began blocking the sunlight.

It was very dark, but his senses were acute.

A lizard of about one meter in size with red skin glided past from the other side of the bush.

[Sixth Sense]

He could clearly feel its position. All monsters had some mana in their body, and they couldn’t avoid his Sixth Sense.

It began moving faster. 

‘Should I use flash to chase it?’

‘No.’

Although its instantaneous movement speed was slower than Baek Yu-Seol’s, its continuous movement distance was higher. After all, it was much longer.

For now, he decided it was better to let it think of him as a prey.

When it thought it had finally had an opportunity, it quickly charged.

Paah!

It stepped on a tree and leaped, rushing towards his side with great speed.

However, Baek Yu-Seol didn’t even look away and lazily stretched out Teripon.

Kak!

Keeek! Keek!

Teripon was lodged precisely between its snout.

The monster categorized as level 2 danger was killed in a single blow.

After he killed the lizard, he did not move for a while.

‘Um… I think I just looked cool.’

Baek Yu-Seol stretched out his sword and pierced the leaping lizard without hesitation. 

‘I must have looked like a master of martial arts.’

He wanted to hold this wonderful posture for a little longer because someone could be watching, but it was harder than he thought to bear the weight of the lizard with one arm, so it began to tremble.

“Ugh, stupid lizard, what did you eat to make you so heavy?”

Reluctantly, he dropped the lizard on the ground and cut off its tail.

‘Ugh, how annoying.’

The lizards were sparse here, making them tricky to hunt.

‘If I go to places like Rekin Town, I’ll find stuff like this everywhere.’

However, the journey would take far too long. Not every location had Warp holes. In Korea, it could be compared to KTX. 

{TN:- KTX:- Korea Train Express. They are high-speed trains but are sparse in Korea, and they do not run in every city.}

“I can’t…”

Baek Yu-Seol stood up after freezing the lizard tail in a space expansion backpack.

The hunt wasn’t particularly difficult, so it didn’t take long.

Alchemy was not the main subject in Stella. 

To use an analogy, it was like having a sewing machine department at a painting school.

Taking alchemy lectures at Stella meant that there were many cases where alchemy was used as a major and the path of an alchemist was considered.

As a result, alchemists from the Alchemy Tower coming to evaluate students’ assignments at Stella was a great opportunity for them.

“Everyone, have you prepared your ingredients?”

At Eisel’s words, the group members took out their prepared ingredients. Baek Yu-Seol also took out a frozen wooden box and opened it.

“This…”

Furrowing her brows and examining the tail of the fire-attribute lizard, she had a startled expression on her face.

“It’s fresh. Is it…?”

“Of course.”

Baek Yu-Seol had just hunted it the day before, meaning that it was delivered directly from the source.

“It seems that you have an eye for ingredients.”

Clearly pleased, Eisel smiled slightly.

“Did you study the recipe in advance?”

“Of course.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. Now, the only thing left to do is make it perfect.”

Suddenly, the classroom’s front door opened and three alchemists, accompanied by Alterisha and Professor Maizen Tyren, walked in.

“Before taking the test, I would like to introduce you to the three alchemists from the Alchemy Tower.”

Maizen introduced them individually, but they were all unfamiliar to Baek Yu-Seol. The other students’ eyes, however, twinkled. 

‘Seems like these guys are competent alchemists.’

Eisel clenched her fists, her enthusiasm overflowing.

However…

That enthusiasm was shattered before the test even began.

“The potion we’ll be making today is the Tyren Point Potion. Have you all prepared the ingredients?”

The other groups of students nodded, but Baek Yu-Seol’s group didn’t.

“Hold on, Professor.”

“What is it, Eisel?”

When Eisel raised her hand, Professor Maizen responded with a very friendly voice unlike before. She felt uneasy, but she could not help but ask.

“This task… It’s supposed to be the D Vitality Potion.”

“Oh, it was. But didn’t you get the notice? I changed it to a Tyren Point Potion.”

With a sad expression on her face, Eisel’s lips quivered.

“That’s… I wasn’t aware.”

“Really? But I made a clear announcement. Right, everyone?”

All the other students nodded their heads in agreement. 

Seeing that scene, Baek Yu-Seol could not help but get frustrated again.

‘Huh. Do you really want to play like this?’

Baek Yu-Seol knew he would try something to bully him someday, but he did not know he would unveil his schemes so boldly. 

‘Isn’t he afraid it’ll result in punishment if he gets it wrong?’

Baek Yu-Seol remembered that there was a story behind Professor Maizen Tyren’s connection with the Skalven Empire, so he could not easily be touched, even in the academy.

‘Even so, this is way out of hand.’

Baek Yu-Seol wasn’t particularly obsessed with grades, but the other kids were different.

Eisel was looking to build a career, and Maliwan and Kasahun dreamed of becoming alchemists, so it would be bad to start off on the wrong foot.

‘Was there something like this in the original novel?’

When Baek Yu-Seol gave a sideways glance to Flame, she looked at him with a puzzled face for reasons unknown to him.

Maizen smiled slightly and said to Eisel, “Wait, don’t tell me… you failed to prepare the ingredients?”

“…”

“Hm, that makes things difficult.”

Eisel and the two boys’ complexions grew paler. 

A horrifying reality they dared not imagine even in dreams began to creep closer and closer.

“For an alchemist who has to weave through innumerable branches of possibility and craft it into a single truth, losing concentration and messing up the ingredients is the biggest sin.”

“Ugh…”

There was, however, nothing they could do. As students, they had no choice but to accept any changes made by the professor.

“I guess I have no choice. Group 12 is—”

‘Disqualified.’ But just before the word came out…

“Is the Tyren Point Potion all we need to make?”

Baek Yu-Seol took the lead.

“…What?”

“The masterpiece that the Professor is so proud of? I can make it with these ingredients.”

Baek Yu-Seol browsed the sea of ​​innumerable pieces of information floating on his Sentient Spec.

While playing the game, alchemy was one of his main interests, and he had made sure to write down every little recipe.

One of Baek Yu-Seol’s favorite recipes.

[Tyren Point Potion Type B]

Originally, Professor Maizen had only invented this recipe in the future, so he did not intend to touch it, but now that the situation was like this, he had no choice.

If the other party wanted to play dirty, he had to do it the same way.

“I’ll make it. A potion made of different materials but with better performance than yours.”

Professor Maizen’s expression slowly hardened.